€170 million for four Bulgarian projects under the Connecting Europe Facility

Four Bulgarian projects – respectively for the construction of a network of parking lots, the deepening of the Danube River, the modernization of traction substations and the development of the railway network in port terminals - will receive funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). They were approved at the regular meeting of the CEF Committee, as reported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport. However, the intermodal terminal in Ruse will not get the green light.

The total value of the European investment in the approved projects is about 169 million euros, of which slightly more than 143 million euros is the funding from the Cohesion package of the CEF.

The Ruse intermodal terminal

The Ruse intermodal terminal is not on the list of approved projects, although the Bulgarian National Railway Infrastructure Company (Rail-Infra) applied in the last call for proposals. The most likely reason for it not being approved is its high cost.

Bulgaria’s acting Minister of Transport, Georgi Gvozdeikov, stated that the requested grant financing under the CEF is in the amount of over 34.4 million euros, which is 85% of the total allowable costs of the project worth over 40 million euros. The results from the assessment should have become clear precisely in the second half of July.

A check on the list of approved projects, however, shows that the intermodal terminal is not among them. The only chance to get the project funding remains through the European Transport Connectivity programme. Gvozdeikov pointed out that preliminary talks on the subject have been held with the European Commission.

Having to seek alternative financing for the facility became a necessity after the project was dropped from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. Last year, Rail-Infra announced a public tender worth over 27 million euros for its construction, even ranking a contractor’s bid as the best. However, the received offer was very high, and the state company did not have sufficient financial resources for the realization of the project. The gap was to the tune of 11.5 million euros.

More info about the approved projects

The joint Bulgarian-Romanian project FAST Danube 2, which envisages the deepening of the Danube River, will receive 95 million euros of European funding. Its total value is almost 112 million euros.

It includes dredging and strengthening activities in the general part of the river, to guarantee good conditions for navigation 340 days a year. The project will significantly improve the connectivity of the Danube region and facilitate the movement of goods and passengers along the main TEN-T network, according to the ministry.

About 27 million euros of European funding will go to a project for the deployment of a network of parking lots for heavy goods vehicles. The beneficiary is the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria Association. The project is expected to start in September this year and be completed by February 2027.

One of the parking lots will be located near the village of Herakovo (near Sofia) with about 120 spaces. In addition to the Sofia Region, similar facilities are planned in Pernik and Pazardzhik, with plans to upgrade the network gradually.

The idea is for the parking lots to be equipped with an electronic reservation system that will allow companies to plan their trips in Bulgaria better. The plan envisages the construction of four new parking areas with six parking lots and a total capacity of 426 parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles.                  

A project for the development of the railway network of port terminals Burgas-East 2 and Burgas-West has also been approved for financing. The total value of the activities is EUR 10.7 million, and the beneficiary is BMF Port Burgas EAD.

It is planned to build about 4 km of new railway lines and a new distribution station at the port. With the increase in the capacity of the railway lines in the Port of Burgas, the connections between rail and sea transport will be significantly improved, said the transport ministry.

The last of the approved projects concerns the modernization of traction substations Chervena Voda and Hitrino. For this, 12.4 million euros will be allocated to Rail-Infra.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov